SCORES TWICE AFTER A PUCK TO THE FACE
Brett Myers on his at-bat against Sabathia in the second:
"I know I'm a terrible hitter, but I really can't explain it. It was like one of those freakish things. I was able to lay off some good pitches that he made and able to extend his pitch count. And it's like one of those things where baseball is weird like that where you can have a guy that pretty much can't hit a lick go up there and battle a guy that's as good as CC."
Shane Victorino on his grand slam:
"I stayed aggressive. I took a first pitch. He threw it for a ball. He threw the next pitch fastball for a strike. And he threw the next pitch fastball, which I fouled also. In a way I really stayed aggressive. I told myself to take a strike int hat istuation because he had just walked Jimmy, but I didn't change my approach. I tried to stay aggressive. He left me a slider up to hit."
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Phillies win, 5-2.
They're up two in the best-of-five series.
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Good bye, CC Sabathia.
His line: 3 2/3 innings, six hits, five runs, four walks, five strikeouts and one home run.
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Brett Myers has settled nicely since the first inning. He has retired 10 of the last 11 batters he has faced as the Phillies enter the bottom of the fourth inning with a 5-1 lead.
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Shane Victorino almost rocked Citizens Bank Park to its foundation, when he hit a 1-2 breaking ball over the left field wall for a grand slam to give the Phillies a 5-1 lead in the second inning.
Guess CC Sabathia is human after all.
Charlie Manuel dropped Jayson Werth down to sixth in the lineup because he's been struggling and because he thinks he's been pressing. Werth said he thinks he discovered a mechanical flaw. Well, Werth rewarded Manuel with a one-out double to start the second-inning rally. Pedro Feliz followed with a double down the left-field line to score Werth to tie it, 1-1. Brett Myers of all people -- I say "of all people" because Myers simply is not a good hitter, even for a pitcher -- turned a ninth-pitch at-bat into a walk. Sabathia walked Jimmy Rollins to load the bases, sending Victorino the plate.
That might be the loudest I've ever heard it here.
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The good news is that Brett Myers didn't implode after he walked in a run in the top of the first inning to hand the Brewers a 1-0 lead. The first inning hasn't been kind to Myers in his last three starts, including last night. He has allowed 10 hits, eight runs and three walks in those three innings.
Bob Brookover and Matt Gelb team up for their third straight season covering the Phillies for the Inquirer and philly.com.
This is Brookover’s second stint writing about the Phillies, having joined the coverage team after seven years as an Eagles beat writer. Brookover was hired by The Inquirer in 2000 as the Phillies beat writer after spending 13 years writing about the team for two suburban newspapers. While on the Eagles beat, Brookover, who had covered just two winning Phillies teams in 15 seasons, saw the Phillies move into a cash-cow new ballpark and begin playing a brand of the game he found unrecognizable. Follow him on Twitter here.
Gelb is in his third season covering the Phillies. He was hired by The Inquirer in August 2009 after graduating from Syracuse University. He has also covered baseball at The Star-Ledger and Cape Cod Times. Born and raised in Bucks County, he attended Central Bucks High School West. Follow him on Twitter here.
To submit a question for Matt Gelb's Phillies mailbag, click here.
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